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CURRENT ISSUE PREVIEW

JANUARY 2022

Our January line-up includes interviews with Michael Girgenti, Freshta Tori Jan, Brady Smith, Emme Grange, T. P. Jagger, Junia Wonders, Matthew Cody and Chad Thomas, Zetta Elliott, and Kelly Leigh Miller!

Taylor Moxey discusses gifts, Judy Newman talks numbers, Linda Harkey has a doggone writing assignment for little readers, and Nick Spake reviews Sing 2.

Check out our newest book reviews and reading guide! It's all inside!

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FEATURES

MICHAEL GIRGENTI

CREATES A MAGICAL BRAND OF CHILDREN’S BOOKS

by Melissa Fales

Michael Girgenti is a children’s book author and the proud founder of Strawberry Pencil Magic, a unique brand of children’s books that promote positivity, cultivate creativity, and offer original characters and themes. Girgenti’s latest book, Gelo: The Italian-Ice Snowman is about a delicious snowman who lives in fear of melting, or even worse, being eaten. “I joke with people all the time who ask where this stuff comes from,” says Girgenti. “I say, Disney and Seuss follow me around whispering stories in my ears all day. But with Gelo, it came to me almost by second nature because I love Italian ice and I am 50 percent Sicilian Italian.” Read the full article

ONE TO READ:

FRESHTA TORI JAN

by Melissa Fales

As members of Afghanistan’s minority Hazara population, author Freshta Tori Jan and her family were prime targets for the Taliban. One of Jan’s earliest memories is of Taliban helicopters flying over their home, shooting. “My mom and I were on opposite ends of the yard,” she recalls. “She told me to hide in the bathroom (which was outside) and she hid in the dog’s house in the other corner of the yard with the washing metal bowl over her head.” Now attending college in the US, Jan has written Courage: My Story of Persecution. Her book is the third in the I, Witness series, a product of the writing program at the International Congress of Youth Voices. Courage:
My Story of Persecution will be released on January 11, 2022. Read the full article.

BRADY SMITH’S

NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL IS OUT OF THIS WORLD

by Melissa Fales

For his debut graphic novel, Louie and Bear in the Land of Anything Goes, actor, artist, and children’s book author Brady Smith created a strange new planet where there are half-chicken/half-boy creatures and winged monsters who eat children for breakfast. It’s an utterly bizarre place for a boy and his pet hamster to have an adventure, which is exactly why young readers find the story so appealing. “It’s silly, wacky, and ultimately about doing what’s right, even if it’s hard,” says Smith. Subscribe now to read more.

EMME GRANGE

SHOWS READERS THAT DIFFERENT DOES NOT EQUAL LESS

by Melissa Fales

Emma Grange, a self-described “peculiar person,” recently won the Royal Dragonfly Awards Grand Prize for her book, Needing Normal. The story follows a high school freshman named Jett Harper who is struggling to fit in and particularly to appear normal. Grange says she understands what it’s like to be in that situation and at that phase of growing up. “It’s where I most relate: that awkward stage of vulnerability when you can see possibilities and it’s time to choose your path but you’re not quite sure of how to get where you want to go.” Subscribe now to read more.

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T. P. JAGGER

INTRODUCES A NEW BAND
OF SIXTH-GRADE SUPER SLEUTHS

by Melissa Fales

With over 25 years of experience working in education in various capacities teaching both students and teachers alike how to write, T. P. Jagger is debuting his first book, Hide and Geek. Jagger introduces the GEEKs, a group of four sixth-grade friends who come together to solve a puzzle that will not only save their hometown but also keep their friendship intact. Subscribe now to read more.

ZETTA ELLIOTT

GIVES VOICE TO THE DIVERSE REALITIES OF CHILDREN

by Melissa Fales

Author Zetta Elliott has written over 40 books, including titles for children, teens, and adults. Her latest, the third installment of her popular Dragons in a Bag series, The Witch’s Apprentice, will be released January 18. Elliott’s series is unique in that it’s a middle grade, urban fantasy adventure that features children of color as the main characters. “All my fantasy fiction aims to center kids who have been marginalized within the genre,” Elliott says. “My goal is also to disrupt certain conventions such as who can be a witch or wizard, how they look, where they live, etc. I want kids to know that magic can happen to anyone, anywhere.” Read the full article.

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KELLY LEIGH MILLER

PENS A FUN CLASSROOM STORY WITH A HIGH-TECH TWIST

by Melissa Fales

Some kids are extremely nap-averse and apparently, so are some robots. In her latest book, Time to Recharge, Harper!, author/illustrator and cartoonist Kelly Leigh Miller introduces Harper, a robot who’s so excited about the world around him that he is simply unable to stay still long enough to recharge. “There are just so many other things he would prefer to do instead of nap,” Miller explains. Subscribe now to read more.